2. Requirements to Become a
Judge
Formal Requirements
Federal
None
State
Some require judges be lawyers
Practiced law for a certain period of time
Minimum ages
Maximum ages
Informal Requirements
Political Qualifications
Self-selection
Luck
3. Quality of Judges
What makes a good judge?
Criteria:
Competence
Commitment
Judicial Temperament
Impartiality
Methods for Enhancing Quality
Select Qualified Judges
Remove Inadequate Judges
Improve Sitting Judges
4. Removing Inadequate Judges
Federal
Article III – “during good behavior”
Impeachment
Treason
Bribery
High Crimes and Misdemeanors
How many federal judges have been impeached since
1789?
13, of which 7 were removed
Judicial Councils Reform Act and Judicial Conduct and
Disability Act
Establishes a procedure to lobby a complaint about a judge
5. Removing Inadequate Judges
Procedure:
Aggrieved party files a complaint
Chief judge reviews the charge
Investigation
Report to the Council
Possible punishments
Exonerated
Removed
Public or private reprimand
Request resignation
Notify the House of Representative to begin
impeachment proceedings
6. Removing Inadequate Judges
State Judges
Mandatory retirement
Impeachment
Recall elections
Concurrent resolutions to dismiss
State Judicial Commissions
7. Improve Sitting Judges
Orientation programs
Continuing education/training
Warnings from state conduct commissions
8. Main Points
Judges at all levels perform similar types
of work and possess similar types of
background characteristics
The way that judges approach their jobs
and the quality of judges varies a great
deal